Free Tea!?

I know its only Early October But I like to get my Christmas stuff done early when it comes to getting gifts and making sure that i can Actually ENJOY my Christmas and not worry about who i forgot to get a gift for, So today im drinking Merry Xmas to put me in the mood as i sort threw my boxes of Gifts and label who gets what :) I am trying not to go as far and putting on a Christmas movie but its so Chilly here in Maryland today I might break Down! But man this tea Is SOOO Good and is putting me in the Spirit of the season :) LOVE this time of year i call in my TEA time cues its cold all the time so there is ALWAYS a reason to have a cup of tea :)

Yes! For my sister in law and best friend ! Im getting my best friend who is new too tea a Perfect tea cup from Davids, though I am waiting to order because ide like to get her one of the holiday mugs! Or wait for another great sale on them lol

One year I gave tea related gifts (this was back when I was still blending and flavoring my own tea line) and I don’t think they were really appreciated all that much. I seem to be the only serious tea drinker in my family (including extended family). My oldest daughter is starting to drink tea (at least, herbals) a bit more often now though, so I think I might actually get her a tea kettle this year.

My son’s girlfriend loves tea but is still into bagged tea. I gave her some “better” bagged tea and am slowly working her up to her Christmas gift of a strainer, small tea pot, and loose leaf :)
I can’t wait to give this to her … oh gad I had better order this stuff for her!!!

This is a most weird contest. I do want to share, although I should not since folks make fun of me. I have tried for free teas as I see them on s
Steepster for reviewers to try; and to my surprise I have won; so much so that I have more tea than I can count. Also, when I go grocery shopping I sneak a few teas in the grocery cart.

So I have free teas to sample as well as those purchased to sample; what am I to do with all these teas? I don’t have license to open a shop either.

The real dilemma is when I open a new tea for review, if I like it I tend to drink this until finished and I don’t always remember to do reviews of it or a few times; too many reviews of tea and it is gone.

My tea addiction is high. I am just scared all these free teas, the tea merchants/vendors will think me cunning them out of tea but I am not.

One cure for a overstocked supply is to send new people some samples. I look for new Steepsters who only have a little bit of tea, especially students who might not have much money and then I offer tea samples without expecting anything back. Even though I have a limited income myself, I can usually send a little tea out each month. Sometimes I give tea to my family to try too.
When I notice the 1 year anniversary of purchase date approaching, I know it’s time to drink up the stock (unless it’s puerh!). Dating tea as you get it is a good idea too.
I have a 3 drawer bin on my counter with tea to be reviewed which is separate from my larger stock of tea in the cupboard.
This bin reminds me to review a tea every day. I know that the people who were so kind to send me samples need to be thanked in a timely manner by me reviewing what they sent.

The samples we receive are great! I always feel that we are performing a service by giving honest feedback to tea companies on their product, helping them be successful.

Hey all, Thanks to everyone participating in this thread. There is today and tomorrow left to participate to win. We have had a lot of awesome stories and interesting facts shared here and we encourage you to continue entering your posts for a chance to win.

Winner will be announced Wednesday morning, AND another chance to win more of The Persimmon Tree’s awesome tea. :)

So I wonder … how many tea companies actually literally source their teas directly from the farmer. The reason I ask this – and I realize its a rhetorical question … is because twice since I started drinking loose leaf about 8 months ago I have asked small tea shops this question (“where do you source your teas”) and they both have said “Direct from China from the farmer” Now in BOTH cases I was absolutely POSITIVE they were lying.
I just don’t understand – I mean if they don’t want to give up their source thats fine – just say “From various vendors” or something generic like that. It just irks me that these small tea houses are trying to tell me they have a relationship with some farmer in China when they clearly do not even have any tea FROM China. LOL Both times I have been tempted to call them out on this but instead I just smile – while feeling a little like a tea snob – and order something.

As someone who was in the business … it is NOT easy to get information on sources. One place that I initially contacted when I was just primarily interested in doing some flavoring and blending for myself … before I even started out in the business told me that she would provide me with a list of her suppliers – IF I took her tea business class. Tuition for the class was $6K. Um… no thanks.

I need to make another order from You guys! I’ve been loving everything so far! And my boyfriend’s mom just surprised me with a great clear glass travel mug so I can actually brew my blooming tea I bought before, since I broke my clear glass pot recently :( next paycheck I think my tea budget is going to you :)

Congratulations, Sil, for winning our free tea giveaway! you can now go to www.persimmontreetea.com and pick the tea of your choice. PM me with your choice and address and we will go ahead and send out your delicious tea.

Thank you everyone for participating as well. We had some awesome posts and some interesting stories, again, thank you for sharing.

But no one leaves empty handed. Here is a coupon for all of you that shared and participated for you to shop at our online tea store. It’s for 15% off any purchase, and remember you get free shipping on orders over $30 and some nice surprise samples!